Local dog is a winner at Westminster

DOG SHOW

The Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show was established in 1877. This year, it celebrated its 134th annual dog show dedicated to the judging of purebred dogs. It is considered the top dog show in the United States.

Since 1888, it has been held in February in New York City. There were 2,617 dogs entered this year.

RANCHO SANTA FE  Lori Lawrence’s stomach was in knots when she watched her whippet Chanel strut her stuff at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show at New York City’s Madison Square Garden.

Her nerves untied themselves when Judge W. Everett Dean named Chanel the winner in the Hound Group at last month’s competition, considered the most prestigious in the country.

“When the judge pulled Chanel out to the front of the line, I jumped out of my chair,” Lawrence said. “It was surreal because it’s the pinnacle for breeders to get dogs to that level.”

Chanel, a 2-year-old champion, represented the hounds in Best in Show. It was a Scottish terrier who won, but Chanel pranced off with her share of trophies and blue ribbons. While many breeders struggle to produce the best dog and to garner judges’ attention, Lori and Carey Lawrence of Rancho Santa Fe overcame that struggle with Chanel.

For 25 years, the husband-and-wife team of Starline Whippets has bred dogs once a year, producing 70 American Kennel Club champions. (The AKC is the largest purebred dog registry in the world.)

Before Chanel, her great-grandmother, Brie, and her aunt, Jeep, won Best of Breed at Westminster. But it’s Chanel who pawed her way to the crème de la crème, a top level. “To win the hound group was hard to wrap our heads around,” Lori Lawrence said.

“Chanel is a fourth-generation Starline breeding, so this is very exciting.”

Lawrence chalks up her breeding picks to her history with horses.

“I’ve been an equestrian my whole life, so I have a natural eye for balance, symmetry, quality and function,” she said.

The real challenge in the business is choosing which dog shows to enter Chanel in throughout the year. It’s a strategy, Lawrence said, because she determines where Chanel will go based on the judges — favoring those who have liked her dog at past events — and competitors — avoiding shows where dogs have already triumphed over her dog.

Before the 2010 Westminster, Chanel and her handler, Lori Wilson, traveled around the country. In January, the duo started in Palm Springs, then jetted to Washington and Texas, and entered an Indianapolis show a week before Westminster. After Westminster, they went to a show in Florida.

Chanel and Wilson return to Rancho Santa Fe when they’re not competing. Wilson, a resident of Missouri, has a guest room at the Lawrence home.

Training show dogs begins when they are weeks old, Lawrence said. Puppies are picked up often, and their paws and bodies are positioned in a standing show stance.

Lawrence knew she had a “golden child” early on. Chanel won her first American Kennel Club championship at 7 months old.

Chanel will compete in 150 more dog shows this year, but then things will change. Early retirement is the plan because motherhood is on the horizon.